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The 2014 World Series began last night with Game 1 in Kansas City. After just five batters, the Giants already had a 3-0 lead and never looked back, taking a one game to none lead in the series. For the Royals, losing the first game of the World Series hurt, but would losing Game 2 be the death-blow to their chances of being crowned champions?

Yes - Game 2 is a must-win for the Royals

No one wants to lose the first two games of a postseason series, but losing them on your home field hurts even more. The Royals have the home-field advantage in the series thanks to the American League's win in this season's All-Star Game (a ridiculous reason, but that's a discussion for a different day), and if they lose Game 2, that will completely blow a great opportunity. San Francisco's AT&T Stadium is one of the toughest stadiums to play in for a road team in Major League Baseball, and winning at least two games there would be a tough task.

Since the league went to the 2-3-2 format for the World Series, there have been 13 teams that lost the first two games of the series at home. Of those teams, eight of them ended up getting swept and only three ended up going on to win the series.

ALCS Game 3: Mike Moustakas makes two diving catches

The Kansas City Royals are making their first appearance in baseball's postseason since 1985, which was before most of their players were even born. Now, the Royals are the feel good story of this postseason. During Game 3 of their series versus the Baltimore Orioles, 26-year-old third baseman Mike Moustakas made two fantastic grabs. His catches are just two examples of the many great defensive plays the Royals have made so far in the playoffs. If the Royals get to the World Series, their defense will be a large reason why.

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ALDS Game 1: Mike Moustakas extra innings homer

Oh, and defense won't be the only reason; the Royals' timely hitting will also play a big role. When Moustakas stepped to the plate and hit the game-winning extra innings home run in Game 1 of the ALDS versus the heavily favored Los Angeles Angels, people started viewing Kansas City as a legit threat. The Angels definitely know it now, because the Royals quickly swept Los Angeles out of the playoffs.

In honor of TicketNetwork.com 7th Anniversary celebration this week, we are talking about all things "7". We are giving away a gift card for $777, giving customers the chances to save 7% off of their next order of $200 or more (use the code "TN7Years" if you're interested), as well as having 7 days of silly giveaways on our Facebook page. Today, I've decided to post my choices of the best sports stars to ever wear the number 7 on their jerseys. In honor of George Costanza, we kink off the list with "The Mick":

Mickey Mantle

From 1957 to 1968, Mickey Mantle was arguably the best player in the game of baseball. Mantle was an All-Star 20 times (MLB used to have two All-Star games per year), was the league MVP three times, and helped lead the Yankees to seven World Series titles over his career. His #7 is retired by the Yankees and he was a first ballot hall-of-famer in 1974. All of those accomplishments led to George Constanza to want to name his first child Seven, which is perhaps Mantle's greatest honor.

For as long as anyone can remember, athletes have wanted to be actors or musicians and vice-versa. Today we celebrate all those baseball players who took their shot in the TV/Movie business. Here are my Top 5 appearances in TV shows or movies by baseball players:

The Simpsons

If you were to ask a "Simpsons" fan the question: what is the best episode ever? The majority of them would answer "Homer at the Bat." The 1992 episode of the classic cartoon features nine MLB players, each of whom have funny scenes throughout the episode. From Bart heckling Darryl Strawberry from the stands to Mr. Burns yelling at Don Mattingly to shave his sideburns, this is definitely the best example of MLB cameos.

Buying baseball tickets just got a little better! With "Buy in July," TicketNetwork.com is trying to make your baseball tickets free — and who doesn't love free?

Fans don't have to do anything different; just buy tickets from TicketNetwork.com to see your favorite teams play. If the home team from your July purchase wins the World Series, you can get your money back. Seriously. It's that simple.

So the only question is: which team(s) will you be buying tickets for?

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